An arrester may be used as a surge arrester. In the interior of the surge arrester, when a threshold voltage, the breakdown voltage, is exceeded, an arc-over occurs between two electrodes. The threshold voltage is referred to as the response DC voltage Urdc in the case of static or steady-state loading with a voltage rise of 100 V/s, and is referred to as the response surge voltage Urs in the case of dynamic loading with a voltage rise of 1 kV/μs. The arc is maintained by the feeding current as long as the electrical conditions for the arc exist.